Twila Van Leer

About Twila Van Leer

Journalist/writer for more than 50 years. Pulitzer Prize nominee, 1983 for coverage of the first permanent artificial heart. More than 50 national, regional, local awards for news writing. Main writer for a memorial book for Deseret News' 150 th anniversary and for a book recounting the 1997 re-enactment of the pioneer trek from Omaha to Salt Lake City. Co-writer and editor of "True Valor," a book on the history of the artificial heart. Author of the book, Life Is Just A Bowl Of Kumquats, a wonderful story of a house wife and her trials with raising a large family.

Make a budget and live by it. Start with a good, honest pencil-and-paper look at your income and outgo.All of a sudden you’re finding that your credit card balances are totally beyond your ability to pay? Time to take control. Debt is a big factor when you need a credit score that will allow you to buy a home, a car or other big-ticket item, so stop debt in its tracks.

You begin the battle against debt by assessing your spending. Are you buying what you need or letting wants win the game? Before buying an item, be prepared to defend it as a genuine need. The latest eye shadow kit or a trip to the spa probably can’t pass the test. You may argue that you work hard and deserve the occasional spree, but you have to count the sacrifice if you give in to that philosophy too often.

Make a budget and live by it. A personal finance app can be a big help. But start with a good, honest pencil-and-paper look at your income and outgo. Don’t fudge because that will inevitably gum up the works as you try to make the math work. Start with the items that are essential, such as rent, utilities, insurance, food, clothing (within reason) etc. What is left is your discretionary money. Wisely used, it can help you achieve some of your goals. Start a regular savings for emergencies and then carefully plan what you will do with the rest. Circumstances change, so visit your budget frequently and make adjustments as necessary, keeping the needs vs. wants factor clearly in mind. Invest when you are able to do so. The future comes fast.

Put your credit cards away. A credit card or two can expedite shopping, as long as it is controlled. If you can’t keep on in your wallet without facing serious temptation, don’t do it. Take you card only when you have in mind an item that is duly budgeted for and resist the urge to go beyond that. If you are one of the many Americans who have no idea what their credit card debt is, go to Credit.com and look at the balances. Limiting the number of cards you have helps reduce the likelihood of overusing your credit. Credit card companies offer all kinds of incentives to keep you in their ranks, but don’t let the perks overwhelm your practicality.

Stop today making excuses for your wretched personal finances. If you think you don’t have time to make a budget, you could be forced into spending more time trying to find a way out of debt. Get honest with yourself. If you need professional help getting a handle on your finances, it is available. Whatever steps you need to get yourself on an even keel, take them.

Reassess your budget periodically to see if there are items you could eliminate or undertake to do on your own rather than pay to have them doneHow many ways can you think of to save money by taking care of home maintenance items, making your own clothing, your baby’s food and dozens of other projects?
You can save lots of money if you go about it right.

First on the list of don’ts is the obvious: Don’t undertake DIY projects unless you know what you are doing. Free courses through local schools, colleges, libraries, stores, sewing centers, etc. can prepare you for routine home upkeep chores. Book stores have shelves of how-to books and there is a website for any job you could imagine. Don’t start a project until you’re sure you can finish it.

Stick with things you are genuinely willing to tackle. If you are put off car repairs by the smells and dirt, leave it to the experts. Focus on projects you want to undertake and have reasonable expectations of success.

Start small. Re-roofing an entire house is a huge, dangerous and expensive undertaking. Start with a small section of roof on a garage and see what the reality of the full job would be.

Lawn care might be a good place to start. If you have been hiring it done, enlist the help of family members and do it yourself. Don’t assume you have to do every bit of every job yourself.

Reassess your budget periodically to see if there are items you could eliminate or undertake to do on your own rather than pay to have them done.

Sell (or donate) items you no longer need. Keep track of their value to use for tax deductions. Items that have value as collectibles can be offered on eBay.

You will multiply the value of Do-It-Yourselfing by putting the money you saved into your regular savings or into a separate account for emergencies.

Keep rejections in perspective and remember that employers don’t always choose the most qualified candidate.Although the United States is enjoying the lowest unemployment rate in years, there still are many people in job search mode, hoping either to find a job or upgrade.

Here are tips to help in the process:

Have a plan. Write it down. You may have to revise as you go along, but start with a firm idea of what kind of work you want, how much you expect to earn, whether it fits long-term career objectives, how many and what hours do you want to work?

Treat the search as if it were a full-time job in itself. If you lack the motivation to keep at it, enlist a friend to help keep you on track. Follow a consistent schedule and stay organized as you make queries. Get up early and be ready for business during regular business hours. Follow up on any leads immediately and make a to-do list every evening. Keep detailed notes on all your conversations with prospective employers. If you notice any trends, correct your approach. Be willing to consider additional training if it will get you into the field of choice.

Don’t give up. Being passed over is part of the job hunt. Keep rejections in perspective and remember that employers don’t always choose the most qualified candidate. Learn from the “no’s” and move on. Don’t take failures in the job search personally. It may be the next employer you approach will be the right one.

Remember to draw on every possible “in” you have among family and friends. The majority of successful job hunts are the result of networking.

Stay healthy. If you become so focused on the hunt for a job that you forget to take care of yourself, you can defeat your own purpose. Take a little time for recreation and/or exercise. It will help you to cope with the inevitable stress and emotion of looking for a job.

If you feel you need help, look into state and local job service options, local institutions of higher education, your local library or associations that represent the field in which you are interested.

A theater hoping to fill the house may begin selling “rush” tickets a couple of hours before the performanceAmericans love to be entertained and they spend a lot of money for the pleasure. Here are a half dozen ideas for spending less and enjoying it more:

If you’re planning a night out for live entertainment, wait until the last minute to purchase tickets. A theater hoping to fill the house may begin selling “rush” tickets a couple of hours before the performance. Consolidated discount ticket booths are popping up all over the country. Or make a direct call to the theater and ask if they discount tickets right before show time. Of course, if you know a performance is likely to sell out, keep your plans flexible.

Remember the library? That’s where people used to go for books. Many of them still do and they also keep current on recorded books, shelves of CDs and other media. Today’s libraries also offer readings, book clubs, film screenings and lectures. Dust off your card and take another look at your local library.

Teenagers and young adults who are looking for entertainment that doesn’t break the bank can often find part-time jobs at sports venues, concert halls or theaters. That way, they can catch the action (without neglecting their responsibilities) while earning enough to pay their way into yet more events.

Regular discount days are a feature of many theaters, museums, galleries, zoos and parks. Some even offer free entry on certain days of the week or during particular hours. Live performance theaters sometimes offer drastically discounted tickets for dress rehearsals.

If baby-sitting costs keep you home, arrange with another family to swap the chore on alternating Saturdays. Over a year’s time, you could save more than a thousand dollars. which you could turn back into entertainment money.

Matinee performances generally are less expensive than night-time performances, so plan to attend during the day rather than paying the higher night-time costs.

Cooking you own meals can significantly cut the costs of eating. Even fast-food eating out in enormously expensive.The typical American family of four spends $8,513 per year on groceries. And many families add to that amount by eating out regularly. If you are interested in cutting the amount you spend at the grocery store, file these tips away and follow the advice they offer:

Learn to cook. Cooking you own meals can significantly cut the costs of eating. Even fast-food eating out in enormously expensive. You’ll also save if you cook from scratch and avoid the higher-priced frozen and pre-prepared meals. Not only that, it is likely that you will eat healthier. Book stores have dozens of cookbooks, many of them focused on inexpensive and easy-to-fix meals.

Take fewer trips to the grocery store. Typical American food shoppers go to a store three or four times a week. This means they triple or quadruple the temptation to pick up things they don’t really need. Studies say the frequent shoppers spend up to 54 percent more than those who stock up for a month or more at a time.

Take sack lunches to work. Compare the cost of a $2 brown bag lunch to the average $6 trip to a sandwich shop and you can see how fast you could save yourself some serious money. In this comparison, the savings are about $80 a month or $960 in a year.

Make a list. Impulse buying is sharply curtailed when you have it written down. Sketch out a week’s meals and see that all the ingredients are on hand. Add a few goodies to the list for the occasional treat, but otherwise, stick with the list.

Buy generic. No-name brands are almost invariably less expensive than those that you recognize right off the bat and the quality is likely to be comparable. The experts say you can pocket big savings on such items as canned goods, cereals, frozen vegetables and even baby products such as diapers and prepared formulas. When buying prescription drugs, compare labels so you are sure you are getting the same dose of the active ingredients.

Use coupons. Coupons are good money-savers only if you look for items that don’t cost more than you would find in another brand. Store brands usually cost less. Eateries also offer coupons and you’ll find them online.

Many stores offer information on their shelves or price tags that gives a unit price. Comparison shop using the unit price. Buying in quantity is a good idea for some items. For instance, a pack of 40 diapers may cost f$13. or 33 cents per diaper. A box of 144 diapers at $35 is just 24 cents per diaper. (A word of caution: Although buying in bulk is usually less expensive, it’s a waste if you cannot use the product within a reasonable time. A good deal is not a good deal if it goes to waste.)